That's right, this is the one and only, official Burton-watch thread, a thread dedicated to discussion of Stephen Burton (and Brandon Burton too, if people want to talk about him).
Burton (Stephen) performed well on Friday and apparently, he's been performing well in camp too. Judd Zulgad recently wrote an article about him (link below) and fan site, The Daily Norseman, had this to say about Burton's performance in practice on Sunday:
Burton looked unstoppable on intermediate and crossing routes all day. He was getting open at will. He made the proper adjustments when passes to him weren't right on point. If Burton keeps this up, I don't see how the coaching staff can leave him off the final roster.
Burton looked good on Friday and from the tweets seems to be doing the same in practice. Still, the media tends to hype a receiver at this time of year. Last year they were raving about Simpson. In years past it was guys like Hank Baskett, Martin Nance and Jason Carter.
I wish Burton the best, it sounds like he worked hard this offseason and coming from a small school it makes sense that he would need some time to develop.
S197 wrote:Burton looked good on Friday and from the tweets seems to be doing the same in practice. Still, the media tends to hype a receiver at this time of year. Last year they were raving about Simpson. In years past it was guys like Hank Baskett, Martin Nance and Jason Carter.
Oh yes, it's always someone. That's why I hope it was clear that while I'm sincere in my hopes that Burton will step up and become a bigger contributor this year, the OP was also written with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
The problem with a guy who works his butt off to become the #5 receiver is that he's still the #5 receiver and gets little playing time and few targets during the season. That's a difficult hurdle to overcome.
Another problem is that he's a young guy whose upside is difficult to gauge, while he keeps improving. Just 23 now, after another two seasons, he'll have five seasons under his belt and be just 25 years old. He's going to end up being a solid young WR eventually, but will he still be with the Vikings?
It sure seems like Both Burtons are playing with more confidence. Belief that they belong and such.
As far as our WR unit goes, I like the depth we can have there. It really bodes well if someone gets hurt to have a guy that can come in and make plays and understand the offense.
It's going to real interesting to see how many they keep. I would not want to make the decision. Simpson has a lot to prove as far as where he ranks on the chart. I can see the argument for Burton and Webb having more consistent upside than him. Probably the most intriguing battle for me.
I had the same question as a poster above - which Burton?
I am glad to see Stephan Burton have a good game, but still, he needs to prove that he has more than one good game in him.
Conversely, I liked what I saw from Brandon Burton early in the game too. He has always been a darkhorse candidate for me. I hope he gets a shot over the likes of A.J. Jefferson and Jacob Lacey.
A Randy Moss fan for life. A Kevin Williams fan for life.
Burton has had years of chances, and hasn't taken advantage yet. Webb in his very first, raw year, as a WR, looked to have as many skills as Burton. Im pulling for Webb. Made a few nice catches, and nice blocks.
PurpleKoolaid wrote:Burton has had years of chances, and hasn't taken advantage yet. Webb in his very first, raw year, as a WR, looked to have as many skills as Burton. Im pulling for Webb. Made a few nice catches, and nice blocks.
100% disagree. Burton looked smooth and capable of a wide variety of routes. Webb had better hands than expected, but appears to be limited w/ route running awareness at this point. I'm cheering for Burton!
I'd like Webb to stick around in some role though.
It's a stark contrast from last year. We didn't have enough decent WR's and now it's the who are we going to keep dilemma. S. Burton is making the decision difficult for the staff to let him leave at cutdown time.
Don't hate on my Buckeyes. Some of the best Vikings went to Ohio State.
Including now, HOF WR #80 Cris Carter
CbusVikesFan wrote:It's a stark contrast from last year. We didn't have enough decent WR's and now it's the who are we going to keep dilemma. S. Burton is making the decision difficult for the staff to let him leave at cutdown time.
Agreed. If I was a decision maker, S. Burton showed me a lot on Friday. Routes, yards, blocking... he did great.
If we can keep Burton around I'd be very happy. I was a fan of him coming out and knew he'd take some time to develop, looks like he's keeping it up. If he does develop the way we want him to we have a great #4/#5 who fits very well with our running-heavy scheme. Also helps he's one of those guys who gives it all with no complaints about his role, team player.
Whenever i step outside, somebody claims to see the light
It seems to me that all of us have lost our patience.
'cause everyone thinks they're right,
And nobody thinks that there just might
Be more than one road to our final destination--
If Burton makes the club and barring injury, would this be the 5 receivers.
1. Jennings
2. Simpson
3. Wright
4. Patterson
5. Burton
I don't see them keeping 6 receivers.. Could this be a swan song for Joe Webb?
Tark10 wrote:If Burton makes the club and barring injury, would this be the 5 receivers.
1. Jennings
2. Simpson
3. Wright
4. Patterson
5. Burton
I don't see them keeping 6 receivers.. Could this be a swan song for Joe Webb?
It's very possible. My guess is Webb may have to distinguish himself on special teams to make the final roster.
That is my thought. Webb is one of hte top 5 athletes on the team. If they think they can turn him into something at WR I suspect they'll find a way to keep him on the team.
He has an almost Megatron type body, if they can get him to develop the other skills he could be nothing short of amazing.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
